I'm new to Eve, what do I need to know?
Security Ratings
New players need to be VERY alert and aware of the world around them. Unlike other MMOs that have a PVP and a Carebear server, EVE is ONLY PVP. This is not a bad thing, but it means you need to be careful. There are security ratings on every system. Pay attention to them. Anyone can kill you in a 1.0 security system. The sec status goes from 1.0 (the highest) to 0.0 (the lowest). If you open your map you will see systems that are rated lower than 0.0, This just means that there is a lot of fighting there. So lets take a closer look at security ratings.
High Sec: High Sec or High Security is 1.0 to 0.5. As you go down in the rating you will notice stronger rats (Non-Player Character Pirates), better ore, bigger ships (the biggest ship allowed to fly in high sec is a battle ship), stronger enemies in anomalies, etc. The big thing to remember is that CONCORD (the universal police) live in high sec. When someone attacks someone else in unprovoked aggression, CONCORD will try to kill them. CONCORD has guns and modules that players simply do not have access to. Unlike other games where the guards can be killed, I don't think anyone can actually kill CONCORD. Keep in mind also, that CONCORD can kill a battleship in only one or two shots. There are also station guns, and gate guns. These guns are very powerful and are named by players for their location in space, at stations or at jump gates. The guns are technically the same. Player owned stations in high sec cannot be set to kill everything. Only aggressors and war targets. If you are not at war, you have nothing to fear of moons.
Low Sec: Low Security space is 0.4 to 0.1 and has one very major factor. CONCORD does NOT live here. They don't come here. You live with station guns and gate guns, but no police. You will find that most of the people here will kill you without a second thought, and they don't care about any standing loss. These systems are for more advanced or suicidal players. If you go here, be prepared to lose everything you take with you, including your clone.
Null Sec: Null Sec or 0.0 is the bottom of the security rating. This is because it is UNSECURE. There are some 0.0 systems that are under empire control, but most of them are not. This means that anyone can kill anyone and not suffer the slightest setback. There are no gate guns or station guns. The thing to keep in mind is Player Owned Stations (POS) these will be armed with a lot of guns and the guns will be set to shoot everything that they haven't said is friendly. If you get anywhere near them, and I don't mean close, I mean anywhere even remotely close to them, they will open fire on you. There are also a lot of other player owned structures, but this is a simple guide and not an exhaustive walkthrough.
High Sec: High Sec or High Security is 1.0 to 0.5. As you go down in the rating you will notice stronger rats (Non-Player Character Pirates), better ore, bigger ships (the biggest ship allowed to fly in high sec is a battle ship), stronger enemies in anomalies, etc. The big thing to remember is that CONCORD (the universal police) live in high sec. When someone attacks someone else in unprovoked aggression, CONCORD will try to kill them. CONCORD has guns and modules that players simply do not have access to. Unlike other games where the guards can be killed, I don't think anyone can actually kill CONCORD. Keep in mind also, that CONCORD can kill a battleship in only one or two shots. There are also station guns, and gate guns. These guns are very powerful and are named by players for their location in space, at stations or at jump gates. The guns are technically the same. Player owned stations in high sec cannot be set to kill everything. Only aggressors and war targets. If you are not at war, you have nothing to fear of moons.
Low Sec: Low Security space is 0.4 to 0.1 and has one very major factor. CONCORD does NOT live here. They don't come here. You live with station guns and gate guns, but no police. You will find that most of the people here will kill you without a second thought, and they don't care about any standing loss. These systems are for more advanced or suicidal players. If you go here, be prepared to lose everything you take with you, including your clone.
Null Sec: Null Sec or 0.0 is the bottom of the security rating. This is because it is UNSECURE. There are some 0.0 systems that are under empire control, but most of them are not. This means that anyone can kill anyone and not suffer the slightest setback. There are no gate guns or station guns. The thing to keep in mind is Player Owned Stations (POS) these will be armed with a lot of guns and the guns will be set to shoot everything that they haven't said is friendly. If you get anywhere near them, and I don't mean close, I mean anywhere even remotely close to them, they will open fire on you. There are also a lot of other player owned structures, but this is a simple guide and not an exhaustive walkthrough.
Empire Control
The Empire or Sovereignty is the faction that controls a system. The system pictured left is under the Caldari State, or simply, Caldari. The Constellation information isn't all that important. The Region info is mainly used to determine which market you will use when you open the market window. The market will automatically set itself to the region you are in. You can shrink the search area of the market or contracts to Constellation, system, or station but I like to work with more results to make sure I am getting the best prices. For gameplay though, most of this info is just clutter. The bottom line though, is extremely important. This is the Security Status. This system is 0.6, which means it is High Sec and relatively safe. Remember, nowhere is safe in Eve. If you are not in an NPC station, anyone can kill you. Never undock in anything you aren't prepared to lose.
In 0.0 space, players can control the sovereignty. This means that you could enter a system and see that the sovereignty is Little Pink Bunnies. And yes, someone out there probably has a name close to that. Players can also set up outposts that look just like NPC stations. Pay attention to the sovereignty and the security level. It will save your life.
In 0.0 space, players can control the sovereignty. This means that you could enter a system and see that the sovereignty is Little Pink Bunnies. And yes, someone out there probably has a name close to that. Players can also set up outposts that look just like NPC stations. Pay attention to the sovereignty and the security level. It will save your life.
Skills and Eve
Eve is a skills based game. There are no levels, and no experience bar. You will not get ahead by simply killing more stuff than anyone else. You are bound to the same rule as the players that have been playing for years. Time. It takes time to train skills. Read our Skills and Training guide to better understand skills and how to train.
There aren't any classes or paths or schools or whatever other games want to call them. There are only humans, yes every race in Eve is human, and the skills that human has learned. If you want to be a miner, learn the skills. If at any time you decide to be a killer, learn the skills. There is no limit, and although it would take roughly ten years to learn every skill in the game, there is no restriction other than time preventing you from knowing every skill in Eve. Choose the skills wisely because you don't want to waste time on skills you won't use, but no skill is a true waste. Even WoW can't say that about their skills and spells. You will be the underdog for the first few months. This time will pass quickly, but it will take about 2 months before you get the skills trained to be effective. This time can be spent learning the ins and outs of the game. And making the money you'll need later.
There aren't any classes or paths or schools or whatever other games want to call them. There are only humans, yes every race in Eve is human, and the skills that human has learned. If you want to be a miner, learn the skills. If at any time you decide to be a killer, learn the skills. There is no limit, and although it would take roughly ten years to learn every skill in the game, there is no restriction other than time preventing you from knowing every skill in Eve. Choose the skills wisely because you don't want to waste time on skills you won't use, but no skill is a true waste. Even WoW can't say that about their skills and spells. You will be the underdog for the first few months. This time will pass quickly, but it will take about 2 months before you get the skills trained to be effective. This time can be spent learning the ins and outs of the game. And making the money you'll need later.
Tutorials
In most games I skip the tutorials. In most games it doesn't take that long to figure it out. In most games, your simply not playing Eve Online. Play the tutorials. They are interactive and loaded with information. If you skip the tutorials, you will be flying around asking for info that nobody will tell you. A basic rule of Eve is to not talk in local chat. People don't even pay attention to it. Well, ok. Everyone pays attention to local. It can mean the difference between safety or certain death. But a lot of people will not talk here. If you ask a question, and it is something the game would have already told you, most people will tell you to "do the tutorials" and that's all you'll get. If you do the tutorials, you will already know how to get nearly all the information you need.
I want you to write this down. Put it by your computer screen. This is the most important web site on earth when it comes to learning info about Eve. Are you ready? www.google.com got it? Just google eve online and whatever your question is. There are hundreds of sites out there. Yes, many of them have old and bad info on them. This is not a problem. Just keep looking. But if you did the tutorials, you'll know what is old info. If you haven't, you'll think it's all new info and you'll be trying to figure out how to get an item that isn't in the game anymore.
I want you to write this down. Put it by your computer screen. This is the most important web site on earth when it comes to learning info about Eve. Are you ready? www.google.com got it? Just google eve online and whatever your question is. There are hundreds of sites out there. Yes, many of them have old and bad info on them. This is not a problem. Just keep looking. But if you did the tutorials, you'll know what is old info. If you haven't, you'll think it's all new info and you'll be trying to figure out how to get an item that isn't in the game anymore.
Clones
The skills you know are based on skill points. These are not points you earn, but rather are points given to you as you learn. Each skill is worth a set amount of points. As you learn the skill, you'll gain the points. When the skill is complete, you'll have all the points. The points are used by the game to make you purchase bigger clones, and to determine which skill set you have trained in the most.
KEEP YOUR CLONE UP TO DATE. Eve will NOT warn you when your clone is out of date. It's up to you. If you get killed with an out of date clone, you will have to relearn 5% of the highest skill tree you have trained. When I say killed, I don't mean your ship was blown up. I mean your pod was blown up. If you wake up back in a station. I've seen it happen. People train and train and forget about that clone. You will always have a clone, but it is up to you to keep it up to date. An up to date clone is.. Well, think of it this way. Each clone can hold a certain amount of skill points, like a hard disk. Purchasing a bigger clone holds more skill points, and is like a larger hard disk. A clone is out of date when it no longer holds as many skill points as you have. Purchase them early. You never want to be flying around with an old clone.
Don't run out and buy the biggest clone you can either. It will take years to need it, and you will die in that time, and it's really expensive. Just buy one that you can grow into in a few months. Also, EVEMon will warn you when you are getting close to filling a clone and need a new one. Check out our Downloads page for some cool tools to help with Eve.
KEEP YOUR CLONE UP TO DATE. Eve will NOT warn you when your clone is out of date. It's up to you. If you get killed with an out of date clone, you will have to relearn 5% of the highest skill tree you have trained. When I say killed, I don't mean your ship was blown up. I mean your pod was blown up. If you wake up back in a station. I've seen it happen. People train and train and forget about that clone. You will always have a clone, but it is up to you to keep it up to date. An up to date clone is.. Well, think of it this way. Each clone can hold a certain amount of skill points, like a hard disk. Purchasing a bigger clone holds more skill points, and is like a larger hard disk. A clone is out of date when it no longer holds as many skill points as you have. Purchase them early. You never want to be flying around with an old clone.
Don't run out and buy the biggest clone you can either. It will take years to need it, and you will die in that time, and it's really expensive. Just buy one that you can grow into in a few months. Also, EVEMon will warn you when you are getting close to filling a clone and need a new one. Check out our Downloads page for some cool tools to help with Eve.
Mining
Mining is the fastest way to make ISK, but it is boring and time consuming. You got to keep in mind though, that at this point in the game, you probably don't really have the skills to do a whole lot anyway. While you are mining, read this site. Google stuff. Learn. This way, you'll be able to jump out of the mining rut much faster than otherwise possible. There is a lot of good information out there. There is also a lot of misleading information out there. Mine, read, learn.
Once you have a bunch of ore mined, it might be more profitable to sell it unrefined than to try to refine it yourself. Other people have better skills and standings, and will get better yields from it. Check the prices, then sell it. Ore and minerals sell pretty fast.
Once you have a bunch of ore mined, it might be more profitable to sell it unrefined than to try to refine it yourself. Other people have better skills and standings, and will get better yields from it. Check the prices, then sell it. Ore and minerals sell pretty fast.
The Market
I've mentioned the market a few times now. So here is some info you NEED about the market. There is NO NPC market. Only players are buying things in Eve. Players will put up buy orders for 1 cent and if you don't pay attention, you'll sell for that price. They will then turn around and sell it themselves for thousands and they can and do make millions off of new players. Always use the advanced buy and sell windows. Always put your orders up for sale unless you see that someone is very close to the market value. Play around with the market, but learn to use it. I sat down with one of my friends and showed him that he was losing over 100 million a week on bad sales. I thought he was losing 50 million, but when we were done he had months where he lost as much as 700 million. If you are losing over 100 million a week, in 3 months you could have had 1.2 billion more than you have. I know there are players out there losing much, much more than that, but they think they want the money right now. Wait a few hours for it, and you can make a ton more.
Buying: It usually works in your favor to go to a market hub, like Jita or Hek, but this is not always the case. A quick check can find you the best price available. Also, there is a Price History tab next to the Market Data tab. Use it. You may find that the item you want is highly over priced at the moment, and waiting a few days may drop the price again.
Buying: It usually works in your favor to go to a market hub, like Jita or Hek, but this is not always the case. A quick check can find you the best price available. Also, there is a Price History tab next to the Market Data tab. Use it. You may find that the item you want is highly over priced at the moment, and waiting a few days may drop the price again.
Scams and You
If you ever go into a market hub. Jita, Hek, Amarr, Dodixie, Rens, why the Minmatar need 2 hubs is beyond me, but I digress. The moment you load into the system you will see that local chat is cluttered with contracts and sales pitches and everything useless. NOBODY IS QUITTING EVE AND GIVING AWAY THEIR MONEY. Nearly every single thing in local is a lie, cheat, scam, or worse. The people talking in local are trying to steal your money. Every honest person has posted a contract, or market sell order, and has left it at that. If they are advertising, they are scamming. If someone says check my profile for offers, they are scamming. Of course there is probably one player out there doing this and trying to be honest, but I can almost guarantee you that these are scams. So do the math, they will offer hundreds and thousands of items (ore, minerals and the like) cheaper than the market prices, but if you do the math you will find that they are selling at much higher than market averages. The only safe place is the market, and that isn't safe either. Everything in the game is a scam until you research and prove otherwise. I should say that there is one type of market order that is never a scam. When you look at either a skill or blueprint on the market if the order time is 365 days, it's not a scam. Players can only place orders for 90 days. CCP seeds most skills and blueprints. They are the only people that can place a sell order for 365 days. Not surprising, they usually have the best prices. While I'm on the subject, Caldari don't seed Amarr blueprints, so going to Amarr will get you the best prices. this is the same for all races. It is usually best to go to Minmatar for projectile gun and ammo blueprints. There are players that move these blueprints and mark up the price substantially for the resale. Research prices before your purchase.Notice:
Notice:
Do not purchase ISK with real money. CCP will take back all of the money you purchased, everything you bought with that money, and leave you wishing you had never thought of buying ISK. The only exception is buying PLEX (Pilot License EXtension) from either CCP (done in game from the Noble Exchange) or from approved third parties. The PLEX can then be sold on the market for roughly 350 to 370 million ISK.
Notice:
Do not purchase ISK with real money. CCP will take back all of the money you purchased, everything you bought with that money, and leave you wishing you had never thought of buying ISK. The only exception is buying PLEX (Pilot License EXtension) from either CCP (done in game from the Noble Exchange) or from approved third parties. The PLEX can then be sold on the market for roughly 350 to 370 million ISK.
-Jesse Collie